GAME REVIEW 'Armed': Shoot 'em with a bit of humor

By JOHN BREEDEN II
SPECIAL TO WASHINGTON POST
Shooter games have been begging for a parody for some time, but until now there hasn't been a worthy sendup of this too-serious genre. "Armed and Dangerous" follows the adventures of the Lionhearts, a group of bandits in a world that would be Robin Hood-esque if it weren't for all the machine guns and other modern weapons. Some go beyond modern into the realm of the fantastic -- the pocket black hole sucks enemies into oblivion, and the land-shark gun sics a great white on bad guys.
The game is mostly played in third person, with you, as gang leader Roman, helped out by other gang members and such occasional allies as a group of anti-vegetarian robots called the Shrub Patrol. The levels offer few opportunities to catch your breath, and as you improve, your "score" is reflected in the increasing rewards that posters offer for your capture.
Every so often you get a defensive mission, a change of pace that confines you to a "sardine of death," a turret on a track that scoots along a defensive wall. You get to fire off machine guns and mortars at up to thousands of encroaching enemies -- good luck!
Between these levels, however, comes the true gem of "Armed and Dangerous," the video cut scenes created by the developers at Planet Moon Studios. They are funny enough to be dropped into the next "Shrek" movie.
X"Armed and Dangerous," by LucasArts/Planet Moon Studios, is available for computers with Windows 98 or newer and Xbox.